Not A Fantasy
by SmashMaster9000
Summary: Wallowing in shame after the first round of the Grand Magic Games, Gray and Lucy remain removed from the rest of Fairy Tail. Just before Gray leaves to rejoin them, Lucy asks him to stay for a moment longer. A moment that changes everything between the two, including the very nature of their relationship. A What-If/Alternate Timeline.
1. CH1: A Starry Night of Frozen Tears

_**Chapter One: A Starry Night of Frozen Tears**_

July 1, X791

It was night of the first day of the Grand Magic Games, and out of the eight teams, both Fairy Tail Team's A and B had come in dead last with only a single point. In comparison, the leading team, Sabertooth, had gotten a total of twenty points. To say it had been anything less than a misserable start was an understatement, especially when this was supposed to be Fairy Tail's big comeback after being the laughing stock of Fiore for the last seven years.

But rather than mope around, the guild of wizards were instead at a local bar, eating, drinking, and "celebrating a horrible defeat" as the guild's drunken master, Makarov, had put it. Many were blantantly aware that their position wasn't the best to start in and that they now how to play catch up, already a day behind everyone else, but most saw it as either a challenge or were excited for them to make an even greater comeback in the finals.

That is except for two wizards. The two that had patricipated in today's games, both representing Team A, and both coming out with zero. Gray Fullbuster, who had come in eighth place during the Hidden event, and Lucy Heartfilia, who, if not for some underhanded methods, would have won her match against Flare Corona of Raven Tail.

The two of them had decided to remain in their team's room at the Honey Bone Inn, not feeling too festive after such a day of failure. As neither two bothered to turn the lights on in the room, the only source of illumination came from city lights shining through the balcony windows, giving the room a light glow of violet and blue, which while beautiful, only added to the somber tone in the room.

"You're still angry about today?" Gray asked as he continued to look out toward the city.

"Are you saying you aren't?" Lucy questioned back, not so much as glancing in his direction as she sat in a chair hanging her head.

That response got Gray to look to her. It's not like he could say she was wrong. He hid it well under his calm demeanor, but today, he was nothing short of livid. He was mad at everything. Mad at the games. Mad at Raven Tail... And most of all, mad at himself. He pushed his own thoughts aside for now and focused his attention back to Lucy. As much as she tried to put on a brave face, it was clear to him that Lucy was taking this loss harder than anyone else. The look in her eyes, desparately trying to hold back her tears, the way she had her back to him, not wanting to be seen crying. Gray figured he should give her some space, give her chance to let it all out, but also to walk off his own frustration.

"Well, everyone else is drownin' their sorrows at the bar," he remarked, making his way toward the door, "I know it's a pain, but you should drop in once you got your stuff worked ou-"

Cut off by a sudden tug from behind, Gray stopped dead in his tracks and looked back to find Lucy right behind him, barely holding onto the back of his jacket. The look she had now was very similar to the one she had mere seconds ago, but now there was more to it. Her eyes, they looked to be wanting, pleading for something, all the while, her cheeks were brought to a blush.

"Please stay a bit," she asked of him, unable to look him in the eyes, "I don't wanna be alone."

For whatever reason, be it the way she looked to him with eyes on the edge of watering or how she sounded so fearful of him leaving her by herself, something about it all caught him off guard. Her words. Her voice. Her sorrowful expression. It hurt Gray a bit inside to see Lucy like this, as it would with any of his friends and family in Fairy Tail.

"Fine, I'll stay," he granted her request with a similar blush to her own now burning his face, but knew that wasn't all to her, "What's up?"

"Do... Do you," Lucy struggled to ask her follow up question, affraid of the answer, "Do you think I'm weak?"

"What?" Gray muttered under his breath, taken aback quite a bit and somewhat confused by the question, "Why do you ask something like that?"

"It's just, ever since becoming a member of Fairy Tail, I've only had a handful of fights," Lucy recollected her past battles, "Sherry, Bickslow, Vidaldus, Angel, Kain, all of which I either needed help from someone else or flat out dumb luck. Never once did I win by myself and only myself. But today, today I felt so close to winning, so close to proving myself... And then I go and screw it up."

By this point, the tears in her eyes had begun to overflow and spill out down her cheeks. Her teeth gritting to keep from quivering. Her eyes closed shut, trying to hold back as many tears as possible. Her fist clenched tightly and knuckles turning white, forcing herself to control the emotions within.

"Well, that really depends on what you consider it means to be strong," the ice maker started by breaking down the question, "If you value ones strength purely by their power and magic output alone, then you aren't exactly one of Fairy Tail's heavy hitters like Erza, Mira, Natsu, or even me."

The statement struck Lucy hard. It was clear to everyone, even to herself, that she was by no means the strongest in the guild, but to be told right to her face was something else. It hurt her to hear, getting her to look away out of dissappointment at the truth. At the very least, it truly felt like Gray was trying to soften the blow, even if by just a bit.

"But, that's not how I prefer to think of what it means," Gray countered his own point, "To be strong is to know how far you have left to go, to see those who outclass you, to be knocked down time and time again, and still stand and fight for what you love and believe in, even through the most unbearable of pain. That's what I call true strength. And in that way, Lucy," he placed his hand upon her shoulder, "I consider you amongst of the strongest people I am fortunate to have met."

The tears flowing from Lucy's eyes slowed and her gaze drifting back to the ice maker. Seeing the look in his eyes, Lucy could tell he wasn't just trying to make her feel better. These were words he believes in with all his heart, with not a sign of any wavering second thoughts. At least to Gray, she was strong. The thought brought a smile to her face and a warmth in her cheast. Despite the words, or perhaps because of them, the tears didn't stop falling, something Gray took notice of.

"Are you alright, Lucy?" he asked mildly concerned, "You're still crying but... you look happy."

"Yeah, I'm good," Lucy comforted his worries, "It's just what you said, it was so nice to hear. I'm always pushing myself, trying to be a better wizard, to be a stronger wizard. I'm just glad that to atleast one person, I AM strong. It's such a relief."

"You shouldn't have to do anything special, you know? Nobody in the guild thinks less of you," Gray made sure to let her know, "We already know how much you love Fairy Tail and what you're willing to do for it. And we all saw that today when you fought that psycho. You were willing to give up your win and I bet even your life to keep Asuka safe. And if it weren't for them cheating you, there's not a doubt in my mind that you would have come out on top. But even then, you have nothing to prove. Not to the guild. Not to the master. Not to Erza, Natsu, or me. Not to anyone. That is, anyone except yourself." he paused for a moment, moving his hand from her shoulder to her tear covered cheek, "Now, Lucy Heartfillia, are you strong?"

As he asked his question, Gray focused a small portion of magic power, froze the tear stains on Lucy's face, and brushed the tiny shards away from her face with his thumb as they fell apart into nothing. The question lingered in Lucy's mind for only a couple seconds before she came to a conclusion. An answer that anyone could guess by how she seemingly brightened up out of nowhere.

"You bet I am!" she cheered with a wink and warming smile.

"That's the spirit," Gray said, glad to see her feeling better, "Now how about we hit the bar before they drink that place out of stock."

With a nod from Lucy, the two began to head out. But as soon as Gray grabbed the doorknob and twisted it-

"You know," he heard her say, before feeling an embrace around him from behind.

Gray looked down to see Lucy's arms wrapped around him, her hands resting on his chest. Turning his head as back as he could, he saw her head resting against his back with eyes closed and a calming smile.

"For as cool and aloof as you try play yourself as," Lucy continued from when she interupted their departure, "You're actually a really sweet and nice guy, Gray."

"What exactly does that mean?" Gray asked, thinking he should feel somewhat insulted, but upon seeing Lucy's peaceful smile, he couldn't bring himself to feel bothered by the statement.

"I guess what I'm saying is," Lucy began, as her smiling face grew another blush, "I like the whole package too."

The way she worded it, it seemed that Gray should know what she was talking about, but truth was that he was just confused about what it meant.

'I like the whole package too?' Gray repeated in his thoughts, 'What the hell is that supposed to mean?'

As the moment continued and Lucy showed no sign of releasing him from her embrace, Gray couldn't help admire Lucy's smile and how perfectly content she looked holding onto him. The edges of his mouth curled up as it gave off a serene feeling with just a simple glance, and with the continuous gaze it escalatied his burning blush. Part of him wanted it to end, to be over so they could carry on with the night. But that other part, that one part he keeps pushing to the sideline, that part wished for this moment to last as long as possible, long enough to fully cheerish a small part of what he desired.

Sadly, that time had to end, as Lucy let go of her hold of the ice maker, opening her eyes in time to catch his burning face, and gave him some space after a good moment of closeness. She flashed him a closed smile, signifying she was ready to leave. It took him a second to gather himself before turning back to the door and twisting the knob.

'Just now, the way Lucy had been,' Gray thought to himself as he opened the door, stepping aside to let Lucy exist first 'Her smile. Her eyes. Her words. Everything about it all... felt nice.'

As he and Lucy left the room, he pause for a moment as he closed the door behind them, watching Lucy continue on down the hall. He kept replaying what she had said as she hugged him.

'She likes the whole package,' Gray reciting her coded message in his mind, 'I wonder, is she implying... but how would she know that? I never told anyone that. The only way she could find that out is...'

Gray's eyes snapped wide open. If what he thought Lucy was implying is correct, then there's only one way she could have been told such personal information. But first, he had to confirm his supsicions before he revealed too much.

"Hey," he said simply.

"Um, yeah?" Lucy stopped and turned back to him.

"I got some questions about Gemini."


	2. CH2: A Secret Between More Than Friends

_**Chapter Two: A Secret Between More Than Friends**_

"Hey," Gray said simply.

"Um, yeah?" Lucy stopped and turned back to him.

"I got some questions about Gemini," Gray asked, getting a serious look in his eyes.

"Uh, okay," Lucy said, confused by his change in mood, "What would you like to know? I could summon them if you'd like."

"No need for that, you already spent quite a lot of your magic power today. Don't push yourself," he assured her, "Just need to confirm a few things. Firstly, when Gemini copies someone, they not only gain that persons magic, but also their memories, as well as their thoughts and opinion of others, correct?"

Lucy was caught really off guard by this question. Why would Gray be so curious about one of her spirits out of nowhere like this? Despite this thought, there was no hurting in answering him.

"Yes, they can, but there's also a number of limitations. The mimic can only last up to five minutes, they can only remember two different forms at a time and must erase one to gain a new form," Lucy listed off the twin spirit's limited ability, "There's also the matter that they have to touch someone to transform into them, they can't correctly turn into someone that has a higher magic power than their wizard, and only can relay information while in form and only up to the point of copy."

"That's... a lot to remember," Gray said, surprised by how much Lucy knew about just one of her many spirits, "But that's not really important to my next question."

"And that is?" she asked, somewhat annoyed he just asked her a mostly pointless question.

"Was there any point that Gemini turned into me," Gray asked, going back to being focused and serious, "And more importantly, what info did they reveal."

Lucy understood what exactly was going on, and decided to play right along with it.

"I don't quite know," Lucy feigned ignorance, bringing a finger to her chin, "I mean afterall, I can be as hotheaded as Erza, I might not have caught on to what they said at the time."

Gray's eyes widened. Lucy had just answered his question by listing one of the many thoughts he had of her, one of the thoughts he never let out, espically to her. This, combined with her "whole package" comment earlier, only confirmed his suspicion.

"So, how long have you known?" he asked her, looking away.

"Ever since Nirvana, when Gemini was owned by Angel," Lucy revealed, her tone becoming less joking and more serious, "They became you, using your knowledge of Natsu's motion sickness to try and kill him. We stopped them, but then they began to list off your thoughts of me, and well... I kinda got a bit embarrassed at how personal they were."

Gray closed his eyes and sighed. He knew very well that there was no hiding it anymore. His thoughts were quite literally told to her, even if it wasn't by him. Gray could take some solace though, as Lucy didn't seem to mind his thoughts. But still, that doesn't change the fact that she was told them by someone other than himself.

"Gray?" Lucy called to him, "Is something wrong?"

"What exactly did they say?" Gray asked, to embarrassed to open his eyes and look at her."

"I promise you, it was nothing short of sweet," Lucy made sure to tell him first hand, "They said you consider me me easy on the eyes and having a pure heart."

"Damn it," Gray said in a tone mixed of anger and annoyance, gritting his teeth in annoyance.

"Hey, what's wrong? It's not like any of those things are bad" Lucy asked, now getting concerned, "Actually, I kinda liked be called them. They were really flattering."

"It's not what was said, it's that..." Gray started, but hesitated upon reopening his eyes to see a smiling and blushing Lucy, "It's... It's that I didn't get a chance to say it myself."

Saying that out loud and seeing her smile at recalling his words got the ice maker rather heated from embarrassment, now making it his turn to turn red. Lucy saw the expression on him. He bore the face of someone who had just missed there mark, but with how he was acting towards it all, it seemed unlikely that the he'd try to in the first place .

"Did you ever plan to tell me yourself?" Lucy asked, being a bit more forward.

"Well, it's not like I really had an opportunity to. It feels like it's every other day that something is happening," Gray started to explain his reluctance, "And around the time I started to consider it, Juvia join the guild and... well, you know how she can be."

Lucy wasn't buying his story one bit. It was unlike Gray to hold off on saying something, even if it might hurt someone's feelings. He was just more real with everyone. So it made no sense that he'd not tell her how he felt just because things kept getting in the way. The Juvia thing though, that was a hard maybe.

"Gray, be honest," Lucy requested, "Were you scared to tell me?"

"What?!" Gray shouted in shock, "What would I have to be scared of? I just never had the chance, that's all."

"Well, when was the last time you had a girlfriend? Went out on a date? Even just asked a girl out?" Lucy asked repeatedly, "Because in all my time in Fairy Tail, I don't remember you once trying. So why now? Why me?"

Gray said nothing. Not a word. Not even opening his mouth like he wanted to say anything. Just stood there before Lucy. With a grit of his teeth, he turned back to the door behind him and re-entered their room.

"Wha-Gray!" Lucy called out as she followed him back into the room, annoyed that he was ignoring her, "Hey, what gives? You can ask questions, but get moody when it's my turn? Can you at least answer my la-"

"Deliora," Gray interrupted, with anger in his voice and a knot in his throat.

Lucy froze at that name. The name of a demon from the book of Zeraf. A demon Gray had a dark history with. She dared not say anymore, too scared to push Gray's limit when it came to the monster of his past. She just waited. Waited as Gray made his way to the chair she had been at earlier, now it being his turn to sit.

"I... I lost so much to Deliora. My parents. My home. My master. So much I can never see again," Gray said with his hands held together, clearly shaken by memories, "So much so, as a kid, I was frightened beyond belief. All I had known, all I had loved, taken away. I... I didn't want to lose anymore. So, for three years, I did my best to make sure that never happened. I kept myself from loving others."

Lucy, taken aback, didn't respound to what Gray had said. Her only reactions were to stand still baring an expression of disbelief that turned to sorrow for her friend. Part of her didn't want to listen to him, to think he purposefully avoid feeling love for others. The other part of her was actively angery that he would try to denouce such a thing.

"How can you say that?! So you just cut yourself off getting close to people?! Then what about Natsu?! Erza?! Happy?! Wendy?! Everyone in Fairy Tail?! Are they not close to you? Can you honestly say you don't love them?!" Lucy let out her frustraition, "Are they not your family?! And... Why am I supposedly a different story?!"

"I do care for everyone, I would never deny that, but what I mean is I never wanted to be in love, not if I could help it, and risk losing more," he clarified, "But then, it all changed, on Galuna Island. When Deliora took his final breaths as he crumbled to pieces, part of me changed."

Gray stood from the chair, and turned back to Lucy, his expression looking much brighter than before. A small smile now grazing his face.

"I felt at peace. Years of fear and anguished, wiped away as I saw that monster finally die. I no longer had to live my life being afraid of losing someone."

"But... But why me?" Lucy asked once more, "That happened when I had just joined the guild, we barely even knew each other. Why not someone like Erza, Mira, or Cana? You've known them much longer than me."

"Honestly, it's because you were new," Gray explained, "I knew those three for such a long time, it just felt kinda weird seeing myself in a relationship with them. They're like the annoying sisters I never asked for. But you, I had only known you for maybe a couple weeks. That made you a different story altogether. And after that day, I started seeing you differently. I saw your strong will and conviction to stand for what you believe in. Your devotion to your friends. Your genuine, unfiltered love for Fairy Tail and all those in it. But most off all, Lucy, I saw your heart. An ever shining light that can withstand any darkness."

"He... he likes the whole package," Lucy repeated Gemini's words from long ago, as her blush returned, fiercer than ever upon realizing what was being said, "That's what it meant."

"It didn't mean just your appearance. It never did," Gray remarked as he made his way to the celestial wizard, "It meant, I like you, Lucy. All of you. Every last beautiful bit."

As those final words were spoken, Gray stopped his movement, leaving only a couple feet of distance between him and Lucy. Several moments pass, with neither wizard said anything more as they simply stared at each other. Gray had said all that he had kept to himself, every last word he had wanted to say for so long. Lucy, was the complete opposite. At a loss for words, she knew she wanted to say something, but didn't quite know what to say.

"I... I... I...," she kept repeating, her thoughts playing like a skipping record, "I... I... I need to sit down... or clear my head... or... both?"

"Alright, take a minute to breath," Gray tried to calm her, "No need to over do it. Just relax."

"Easy for you to say," Lucy said, as she made her way to one of the beds, sitting down on the edge, "I mean, you're all out in the open about it now. What do you have to hide?"

"Yeah, I'd like it if we didn't let this get to anyone else," Gray requested, sweatdropping at the idea of Natsu finding out, "Especially Juvia."

"Same here," Lucy said as she mimicked Gray's expression, "I rather like my head on my shoulders, thank you."

"So, what do you have to say?" Gray asked, raising a brow as he was curious as to what Lucy thought of what was basically a confession.

Lucy in honesty didn't know what exactly to say. Despite the occasional wierdo calling attention to her appearance, she never had anyone confess their true feelings to her. Well, there was Dan, but she didn't think that really counted. Though, to be fair, she did kind of corner Gray into the confession with the whole Gemini thing. Gemini... Gemini!

"That's it!" Lucy exclaimed as she reached for gate keys.

"What's it?" Gray questioned her sudden enthuiasm.

"Just you see," the celestial wizard remarked, holding onto a golden gate key, "Open, Gate of the Twins! Gemini!"

Gray held his arm up, shielding his eyes as the brilliant golden light of Lucy's summon filled the room. In mere seconds, the Gemini Twins appeared for the second time that day, and the light quickly faded.

"Piri-piri!" the duo chanted upon arrival.

"So, why summon them now?" Gray asked, very confused by Lucy's sudden action, "You already know my secret, right? And I thought they couldn't mimic a wizard stronger than their summoner?"

"That may be true, but I'm not having them mimic you," Lucy rebuttled before turning to the spirits, "Can you two turn into me real quick?"

"Of course, Lucy," Gemi replied, "Anything for you."

"But do want us to change like last time or do you want a new copy?" Mini asked curiously.

A single second went by before Lucy remembered what their last copy wore, or rather what they didn't wear, and her face turned beat red in an instant at the idea of Gray getting a front row seat to see her in only a bath towel.

"N-NO! A new copy will be fine! Perfectly fine!" she blurted out as she extended out her hand in a rush.

With that, the dual spirits tapped their stubby arms on Lucy's palm, and in a puff of smoke, changed into an exact duplicate of their wizard. This only brought Gray more confusion.

"Okay, I seriously don't get what's going on now," he said somewhat annoyed by his lack of understanding.

"Well, I figured since Gemini revealed how you felt about me, it'd be only fair if they do the same about how I felt about you, just so we're even," Lucy said, her full face blush now settled down to only her cheeks, before turning back to the now look-a-like spirit, "Okay, go ahead and reveal all information on Gray Fullbuster."

With a nod to their master, Gemini Lucy turned to face the ice maker.

"Gray Fullbuster. A user of Ice Make magic and a member of Fairy Tail. Can keep his cool quite well in any fight, but not so much his clothes. He's fairly straight to the point and speaks his mind, even if it can come off as harsh and blunt," the twins listed off Lucy's thoughts, "But that's what she likes. He doesn't pretend to be anything more than who he is. And it doesn't hurt that he's always been kinda cute on top of being a generally good person all around."

Both wizards were starting to get embarrassed at this point, with their faces burning red.

"But above all else, is how similar he is to her. Like her, he too cares deeply for his friends, no matter what the circumstance is, but beneath the surface... is pain. One she can not only understand, but sympethise with as well. She now knows the pain of loss that he's held for years. She feels sorry that he had to bare this alone for so long."

A noticable silence came over the room, as both wizards were given a firm reminder of the news Lucy had recieved after they returned from Tenro Island. Gray looked to Lucy, to see her looking to the ground, eyes closed and taking deep breaths. To him, it was obvious she was trying to keep calm. After a few seconds, Lucy lifted the key back up.

"That'll be all," she said, her tone drastically shifted from moments ago, "You can go back now."

With that, Gemini wasted no time and traveled back to the spirit world, now leaving the room in an even somber tone than before. Lucy quietly brought a hand up to her face, and with a couple clear sniffles, brushed the tears out of her eyes.

"Lucy... I'm sorry," she heard him say, "I know from experience... losing your family can be-"

"I haven't lost my family," Lucy stopped him, "I lost my mom when I was young, and now my dad, but so long as Fairy Tail exist, I always have family," she stated, now looking back up to him, with no sign of sadness remaining, "And that includes you and goes for you too, Gray."

Gray didn't have much to say to that. All he could do was smirk at her words and nod in agreement. There was nothing else to it.

"Yeah, of course," he affirmed.

With that settled, the two once again made their way out of the inn, this time actually getting out of the building and down the streets of the capital. For the most part, their walk was in silence. Not awkward silence, but more of a patient silence. As if neither had to say anything to know what they wanted to do. Lucy however, still wanted to hear it from him.

"Well, are you gonna ask me?" she questioned.

"Huh?" Gray cocked a brow at for a brief moment, before realising what she meant, "Oh! Um, uh... Well, Lucy, do you perhaps want to, I dunno... get dinner sometime?"

"Sure," Lucy spared no time answering with the most sincere smile, "Loved to. But let's see how the guild is doing first. We can go on our date afterwards."

Gray couldn't help but smile back upon seeing her own. Then his eyes widened at the suddened realization of what just happened.

'Me and Lucy. On a date,' he ran through his mind, 'Me and Lucy. Dating.'

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry this chapter took so long. Work has me swamped. And yes to readers of my other fics, that is also the reason I haven't updated any of them either. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and PLEASE **REVIEW!** Help me improve so I can make a better story for you!


	3. CH3: First Date, Second Thoughts

_**Chapter Three: First Date, Second Thoughts**_

The walk to Bar Sun was a mostly quiet one for Lucy and Gray. Not an awkward quiet, but a calming, peaceful quiet as both were not only enjoyinh what peace there was before entering the chaos that was there guild, but also preparing themselves for what was to come afterwards. Gray was still trying to wrap himself around what had happened.

'I can't believe it,' his mind kept repeating as he looked to the young woman walking beside him, 'Not only did I finally get to tell Lucy how I felt, but now we're actually going out.'

A month ago, if one were to tell him he'd get a chance to take the one girl he had been eyeing for the better half of a year out on a date, he'd call them crazy right then and there. Now, he felt like the crazy one, questioning if what happened really happened at all and if he was going to wake up from this dream any minute. Lucy on the other hand... she was having different thoughts.

'What the hell are you doing!? There is no way you are ready for any kind dating!' she internally screamed at herself, 'Aside from the fact that this could mess things up for the team, but we're all in the middle of a tournament and falling behind, you're still dealing with Dad being gone, and you are terribly underdressed for a date! What were you thinking you idiot?!'

"So, um," Gray's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, "Any ideas of what to do?"

The question lingered in the air. Lucy, despite her wishes, never even went out on a date before. The closest being that one guy she met at the library, which she had canceled at last minute. Gray had actively avoided dating for the same reasons he avoided getting close to another. With neither party having any prior experiece, they didn't really know what to do.

"I mean, dinner seems like an obvious choice for a first date, right?" Lucy recommended.

"A-alright, yeah," Gray agreed, "I found this nice place yesterday with Lyon and Juvia."

"Great, sounds like a plan," Lucy responded, beeming a smile, "Sounds like a date."

Finally reaching their destination, the two wizards took a deep breath, preparing themselve to act normal and begin their secret for the foreseeable future.

"Ready?" Gray asked.

"As I can be," Lucy replied as she reached for the doorknob.

Opening the door, it took merely an instant of time for the roar of the bar to momentarily startle the duo. Natsu and Gajeel were going off about how they'll be entering tomorrow's challenge, wanting to best the other. The master was already several drinks in and laughing like a happy idiot. Amongst the chaos, Mira and Erza were casually chatting like the borderline riot wasn't right next to them. And Juvia was...

"She's probably taking her chances now, lunging herself on him!" the rain woman went on with her wild imagination, "But my darling Gray will hold her off, saying "I can't, my heart belongs to Juvia"!"

The secret couple both grew an awkward sweat at the statement of the lovestuck water mage. They moved in closer, wanting her to know they weren't up to anything, and to decrease the chances of anyone, particularly her, finding out how not far off she was.

"But just like her heart, she won't stop, and will beg "Give me a chance, that's all I ask"," she continued, "She could be confusing my beloved and taking him all for herself!"

'If only she knew,' the two couldn't help but think.

"We're right here, Juvia," Gray spoke with a deadpanned expression trying to get his admirer to stop her crazed fantasy.

"Her imagination must not have an off switch," Lucy remarked, somewhat annoyed at how forward and pushy she had been portrayed as, "Neither does her mouth."

A good number of guildmates took notice of the announced arrival, most of which looked to them to see how they have been handling the events of the day. Lucy was approached by Levy, whom she assured that she was doing just fine and was ready for anything the games threw at her. Gray, making sure to draw attention away from him and Lucy showing up together, asked Lisanna about Wendy and Carla, who told them that they were both still in recovery and being watched over by Porlyusica.

The night went on like any other for the Fairy Tail guild. Master Makarov gave a rousing speech that got everyone fired up, which unsurprisingly lead to Natsu picking fights with anyone who'd step up, and poor Max just had to try and prove himself. But despite all the nights fun and comotion, every now and then Gray would take a glance at Lucy from across the room, and find her looking back to him with a warming smile and signing nod. It was a good time as any to go on with their night. Now just to disappear from the group seperately to avoid suspicion.

As Gray was unable to escape Juvia's overbearring affection and Natsu egging him on for a fight, Lucy defaultly became the first of the two to leave. Claiming to be tired and turning in early, she waved off to Levy as she made her way to the door, only to be haulted by sudden crash behind her followed by shoutting. Turning around, she saw a man with dark blue almost purple armor plates on his arms and shoulders, drunk on his back on the ground. And beside him were Macao and Wakaba, writhing in pain as their heads were caved into the now broken wooden floor boards. Before Lucy even got a chance to question what just happened, Erza had approached the stranger.

"Is that you, Bacchus?" the knight asked the drunkard, as he quickly jumped to his feet upon seeing her.

"Well well, if it isn't Erza Scarlet," he responded with a light laughter followed by a slight hiccup.

"Still a drunk," Erza stated the obvious, with a tone that showed disappointment but no surprise.

"And when I'm sober you still be smokin' hot!" Bacchus retorted in what he believed to be a clever one-liner.

"You know how to flatter a girl," Erza sarcastically remarked.

"You know him?" Lucy questioned her friends familiarity with the drunk.

"I heard you went into hiding awhile back," Bacchus continued on with his conversation with Erza, bringing up her seven year dissappearance, "It seemed like such a shame."

"Something like that," she avoided going into specifics, "What about you? I hear you're actually competing in the Magic Games."

Erza's statement got quite a bellow from the drunken mage, as he let out an amused laugh before he got back in her face and went on.

"At first I saw this little trip as an excuse to get hammered and sample the local color," he explained his original intentions, "But after seeing Warcry make a fool out of himself and our guild, my manly spirit got thirsty for vengence! So I'm entering the games as a reserve member and I plan to cause all kinds of trouble."

The tension in the air could be fealt by anyone in the bar. Be it Lucy merely a couple feet away from the two powerful wizards, or Gray and Natsu, who were currently trying grapple eachother into submission near the corner. It was felt even as Bacchus turned away and began walking off toward the door.

"My soul is shaken and stirred!" he cheered with a hiccup, "Maybe we'll have our own little party in a battle round, it'd be nice to settle the score. Y'know what we say in our guild; You will always be!"

"Wild," Erza finished with absolutely no enthusiasm.

"At least you're still good for a chuckle, Erza!" Bacchus let out one more bout of laughter before leaving the bar.

As Bacchus left, the whole guild couldn't help but watch as he walked right off the docks into the river, laughing all the way down stream. It didn't take long for Lucy to resume her questioning, which Erza answering to the fullest. Apparently, the man known as Bacchus was an S-Class wizard of Quatro Cerberus, as well as a former opponent of Erza's, with neither as of yet to be named the victor.

Of course, the news that someone as strong as Erza was competing in the games came as a shock to Lucy. And it didn't take long for Natsu to claim he'd be no match for Erza now, only for Gray to point out nobody stated they were even going to fight, which just lead to Natsu wanting to have a shot at him on his own. The two wizards of fire and ice continued their mix of fighting and bickering, with them gaining an audiance with the bar. Lucy sighed at the scene that had grown all too common to her before again excusing herself to turn in.

While she left the bar itself, Lucy did not return to the inn. Instead, she waited around the corner for the moment Gray could slip away from the crowd. It took a bit a time. Lucy stopped keeping track after about half an hour, almost dosing off a few times. Eventually though, her ice maker of a date had arrived... with a swell on the side of face that seemed to be... burning.

"What happened to you?!" Lucy asked in an obvious worry.

"I'll give you one pink haired guess," Gray replied, not too pleased.

"Wow, Natsu really got you good," Lucy commented as she looked the swell over, "Here, let me-"

"It's fine. I'm used to getting bruises like this, especially with that flame brain," Gray reminded her of how they've always been, "Still though, I'm actually surprised how much more stronger than me he's gotten. Kinda pathetic how far I've fallen behind."

"Hey, don't sell yourself short. You're still one of the best fighters in the guild," Lucy stated, as she continued to check his swell despite his comments, "No need to downplay it."

"No, I wasn't being self-depricating," Gray tried to assured her, "Just reflecting on how it seems Natsu has gone above and beyond to grow stronger. One of the few things I can actually admire about him."

"So there are other things you admire about him?" Lucy pried, "Pray tell?"

"Ugh, can we change the subject?" Gray asked in annoyance, "The last thing I want to do on a date is talk about Natsu."

Both wizards fell silent at that. With all the talk of the childhood rivalry and its ever growing power gap, the two had almost forgotten that the entire reason they had slipped away from the bar and their guild in the first place was so they could have a chance at their first date.

"Hey, Lucy?" Gray spoke up.

"Yeah?" she responded.

"Are we absolutely sure about this?" he double checked.

"What is there to be sure of?" Lucy asked back, "As far as I'm aware, we both want to. We're not too serious yet, so one date to see if we work can't hurt, right?"

While he couldn't disagree with her line of thought, something about this just didn't sit right for Gray. Sneaking behind their friends, acting like this wasn't a big change in their relationship, it just felt off. Gray did what he could to ignore those feelings, believing his nerves were just getting to him and perhaps a quiet night out in the capital could do him some good. That, and he really didn't want to let a chance like this slip by.

"Yeah, okay," Gray finally agreed, "Miss every shot you don't take and whatnot, right?"

"Now that's what I like to hear," Lucy said as she strapped herself around Gray's arm, "Shall we then?"

* * *

Hope you enjoyed my first upload of 2020 and I hope to upload more soon. Feel free to leave a review on how anything can improve or any your thoughts.


	4. CH4: Courting In Crocus

_**Chapter Four - Courting In Crocus**_

"What?!" Gray shouted upon hearing the unfortunate news, "A lifetime ban?!"

"I'm sorry sir, but after you and your friends causing a disruption yesterday, I'm afraid you forced my hand," the manager had informed him, "And to add, our resturaunt has a very strict policy. No shirt, no shoes, no pants, no service."

"The hell do you mean by that?" Gray asked loudly, confused by the last bit.

"Gray," Lucy called him, getting him to turn to her and see her holding a pile of clothing, "Your clothes."

"Crap!" Gray exclaimed upon looking down to see he was in just his boxers, "When did this happen!?"

-x-

After leaving the premises, wanting to avoid causing any further trouble for costumers, Gray and Lucy now found themselves simply wandering down the streets of Crocus, the former now fully redressed, questioning what to do now that their date plans have been greatly derailed. Gray especially was at a road block. Other than going out to dinner, he didn't know the first thing about going on dates. And now that ship had set sail, leaving him to drown.

'Come on, you idiot!,' he mentally berated himself, 'This is your chance with her, possibly your only one, and you're blowing it!'

Amidst his internal self-scolding, Lucy had been eyeing Gray throughout their walk. By the look on his face, she could easily tell he was both aggravated and nervous, as he had been ever since leaving the restaurant he had tried to take her to. While he was distracted by his thoughts, thinking it would be quickest way to set him at ease, Lucy took his hand in hers as they walked. Surprisingly, Gray didn't even notice the action, too caught up in thinking of how to save the date.

"You know, you don't have to do any special" she started, now getting his attention as she closed the gap between them, "I already like you, and I like just spending time with you. Even if it's as simple as walking."

The first thing Gray took notice of was the blush growing on her cheeks, followed by the fact that their hands were interlocked, which caused an equal shade of red to spread on his face.

"S-still," Gray choked out, "That doesn't mean I shouldn't try to make it special. It IS a first date after all."

"And I admire the effort, but don't worry about it," Lucy added, adding her second hand to her hold of his right arm, "This is nice, too."

Gray didn't respond. He didn't know how without nearly choking on whatever may come out. He still wanted to do more for their first night out, but he had to agree with her. Walking down the streets of the capital, only their words to each other breaking the relatively quiet night air, holding each close like this. It was nice. Enough so he couldn't keep himself from smiling as he looked to her. Still, he wanted to do something. Anything at all to make this time together more memorable. Gray looked around, trying to spot anywhere that would be a good place to continue their date.

Unfortunately, with how late it was, most shops where closing up or already closed for the night. And where they were at didn't have much options to begin with. Their absent minded walk had taken them far from the heart of the shopping district, drifting to what Gray had to guess was an opened section of the residential area, with the only real notable landmark was that of a large fountain in the middle of an open section of the town. In the middle of said fountain was statue of a crowned figure covered in armor and adorning a cape, resting their hands upon the hilt of a sword standing before them.

It was then and there, seeing the sizable body of water, that an idea formed in Gray's mind. With their hands still locked together, and without warning her, he quickly started pulling Lucy by the hand toward the fountains edge, catching her off guard.

"W-woah! Hey, what gives?!" Lucy asked, somewhat annoyed by the sudden movement and jerking of her arm, "Gray?!"

"Just wait a moment," he asked of her as they reached the water, "And close your eyes."

Lucy took a moment, thinking over the request while looking over the water her date had brought her to. Not knowing what his was planning, she gave Gray a suspicious look.

"... You better not push me in," she warned while following his lead and closing her eyes.

With the chance given to him, Gray quickly got to work. First thing first, he clenched one hand into a fist and pressed it against the palm of his other hand, channeling his magic power, before pushing both hands toward the surface of the water. And in the flash of a second, the shimmering water of the fountain turned into shining ice. Next, Gray hopped onto the fountains edge, before stepping one foot onto the ice. Seeing it was perfectly solid, Gray began what he hoped would be a memorable experience for the two wizards.

"Alright," Gray said as he turned to an unaware Lucy, "Open."

Upon given her sight again, Lucy almost instantly became as still as the mock ice rink in front of her. A couple seconds passed before it completely registered, but even when it did, Lucy still was unable to respond. She would have likely stayed frozen there with her eyes glued onto the glisening ice fountain, if not for an outreached hand coming into view.

"I might not be able to take you anywhere fancy when the town is dead," Gray had started, with his hand out for her to take, "But I don't think ice skating is a half bad idea for a first date."

No words came from Lucy. Not a single sound. The only action she could muster was to slowly reach for the hand held out for her, her mind not yet fully resposive. Grabbing ahold of her hand, Gray pulled Lucy up onto the frozen water, quickly catching her by the other arm when the lack of traction made her temporarily lose balance.

"Haven't you done this before?" Gray asked curiously, "I'd figure that a former rich kid like you had gone skating loads of times."

"Yeah, when I was like five, sure," Lucy answered, "But I haven't done so since..."

Hesitation in her throat and sorrow written on her face, Lucy stopped short in her sentace. Her somber look caught Gray's eye, easily enough to get him to consider backing out of his newfound date plan. As the tension stood still in the air, Gray nearly confronted Lucy's pause just before she spoke back up.

"Not since my mom."

Now it was Gray's turn to be speechless for the night. While most of Fairy Tail were informed of the fate of her mother, Lucy hadn't always been so open about her family life before joining the guild. And everyone had left it at that, knowing all too well that they all had parts of their own past they'd rather not have pried into before they were ready. Several seconds passed as the two remained still, as frozen as the water beneath their feet. It wasn't until Lucy snapped out of her thoughts that the silent air was broken.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to kill the mood," she apologized first off, "It's just, my mom used to take me skating every winter when I was younger. It was some of the most fun I had as a kid. But when she passed... It just didn't feel the same without her, so I stopped going at all."

"I... I didn't know. I-I'm sorry. " Gray pushed out as he let go of Lucy's hand, "If this is too much we can go back to the room or the bar and-"

"But that was when I was a kid," Lucy stopped him by continuing, "I've had my time to grieve and cry, but in that time I've also grown."

Lucy took a brief pause in her speech. In that time, she took the moment to retake Gray's hand.

"And I've moved forward," she continued, "And now I'm ready to move forward with you."

Despite her words, Gray still remained hesitent. He could tell she was sincere in wanting to continue, but the feeling of awkwardness remained. Lucy, wanting to continue with where they left of, took lead on the frozen fountain. Though, she didn't get far before losing her footing again, caught once again by the ice maker.

"But I think I could move around better with some skates," she joked to cover her embarrassment.

"I-I can fix that," Gray remarked.


End file.
